FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, September 30, 2022

Contact: Chenoa Summers, chenoa4ar@gmail.com, 901-303-8412

JONESBORO, AR: The Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library (CCJPL) has sustained constant attacks since August 2021 at the hands of a far-right extremist group. My opponent, Sen. Dan Sullivan, stoked the flames and threatened funding to the library along with Rep. Brandt Smith last year at the August 2021 CCJPL library board meeting. This year, Sen. Sullivan signed and gathered signatures for a petition to defund the library by half. If this measure were to pass, our community would be devastated by the reality: this would shut down our libraries across Craighead County.

Our libraries provide priceless resources for our community including outreach to nursing homes, day centers for adults with disabilities, Alzheimer’s units, and daycare facilities. They provide computers, free notarizing, voter registration, exercise and computer classes, and job resume reviews. After-school hangouts, kits, storytime, and special events are some of the youth services provided. I have personally attended many arts and crafts fairs, attended bingo with a group of adults with disabilities in the Round Room, had documents notarized, and picked up a jewelry art kit in addition to checking out books.

Defunding our public library would be detrimental to our community. The library serves people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, yet the people who will be hurt by this absurd reduction of half the library’s budget will be kids, seniors, and people who live in poverty. I will continue to fight for our library as I have for the past year. As such, I will be voting AGAINST decreasing the library’s funding.